MIT2371F Video Games Wiki
Video Games (Introduction goes here) Table of contents here---> History 1980-1990 (Revival of the Industry) At the beginning of the 80s we begin to see a overall revival of the videogame industry that had largely grown stagnant due to lack of innovation. This was notably started in 1985 with the introduction of the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) more commonly known as the Famicom (Family Computer) in Japan. The NES was the first videogame system that sold into the millions. Notable games for the system were: Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, Metroid and Excitebike (nintendo.co.uk). Near the end of the decade we also see Nintendo continue the trend of reviving the video game industry with he introduction of the companies first hand held console in 1989 called the Game Boy. According to Nintendo's official site to this day the Game Boy sold over 100 million units (http://www.nintendo.co.uk/Corporate/Nintendo-History/Game-Boy/Game-Boy-627031.html) . The system was most notable for the pack in game that came along with it Tetris which was recently created in Russia. · 1980: A missing slice of pizza inspires Namco's Toru Iwatani to create Pac-Man, which goes on sale in July 1980. That year a version of Pac-Man for Atari 2600 becomes the first arcade hit to appear on a home console. Two years later, Ms. Pac-Man strikes a blow for gender equality by becoming the best-selling arcade game of all time. · 1981: Video game fans go ape over Nintendo's Donkey Kong, featuring a character that would become world-famous: Jumpman. Never heard of him? That's because he's better known as Mario—the name he took when his creator, Shigeru Miyamoto, makes him the star of a later game by Nintendo. · 1982: Disney taps into the video game craze by releasing the movie Tron. An arcade game featuring many of the contests from the movie also becomes a hit. · 1983: Multiplayer play takes a huge step forward with Dan Bunten’s M.U.L.E. In the game, players compete to gather the most resources while saving their colony on the planet of Irata. · 1984: Russian mathematician Alexey Pajitnov creates Tetris, a simple but addictive puzzle game. The game leaks out from behind the Iron Curtain, and four years later, Nintendo bundles it with every new Game Boy. · 1985: The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) revives an ailing United States video game industry two years after the Nintendo Corporation released it in Japan as Famicom. · 1986: The emerging educational software market leaps ahead with the introduction of The Learning Company's Reader Rabbit program. The educational computer business mushrooms with the introduction of CD-ROMs in the 1990s, but crashes with the rise of the Internet. · 1987: It’s a good year for fantasy role-playing games, as Shigeru Miyamoto creates Legend of Zelda, SSI wins the video game license for Dungeons and Dragons, and Sierra's Leisure Suit Larry gives players a different kind of adult role playing game. · 1988: John Madden Football introduces gridiron realism to computer games, making this game—and its many console sequels—perennial best-sellers. · 1989: Nintendo's Game Boy popularizes handheld gaming. Game Boy is not the first handheld system with interchangeable cartridges—Milton Bradley introduced Microvision 10 years earlier—but it charms users with its good game play, ease of use, and long battery life. 1990-2000 (Console Wars) content here 2000-2013 (Mainstream/Casual Shift) content here Technology As video games grew in popularity, developers often looked to new and innovative ways to create immersive experiences for players. Currently, video games are delivered on a variety of technological platforms. Computers Early computers were the original video game platform. Many computer developers attempted to build classic non-electronic games like chess or blackjack into their creations' programming. Initially, most computer-based games were text-based such as Oregon Trail or Adventure, as computers were not built with video games and graphics in mind. Many basic games are created over time, with minimal graphics or technological requirements, until the late 1980s when educational games begin to build in popularity. Graphical learning shifts some of the focus onto developing technology that can support video games rather than video games that are limited to the current computer technology. Over the next few years, visual video games grow to represent almost all video game options available for purchase for the computer. The graphics capabilities of computers are still very limited. In 1990, Microsoft begins offering basic games like Solitaire as part of their operating system packages causing video games to reach new players who would not previously have purchased a video game for the computer. As technology improves, the intricacy and visuals of computer games also improve. By the early 1990s, graphics and memory become the limiting factors when looking to purchase a video game for the computer. This is also the time video games started to expand to include online, multiplayer offerings such as Everquest in 1999. Online video game technology added another limiting factor: modem technology. Now players would need a method to connect to the internet, as well as internet service, in order to fully enjoy any multiplayer game. Consoles Video game consoles grew from the idea of playing video games using the television as a monitor. Ralph Bear was the first to craft a system that was designed solely for video games, the Brown Box, rather than creating a game on an existing computer platform. Although limited to certain games, this started the differentiation between console and computer-based video games. One of the most iconic video game console models is the arcade game-style consoles, which began with Pong in 1972. This technology incorporates a monitor into the design as well as a method for initiating and storing currency transactions where players pay with either coins or tokens to start the video game. Each booth can only play the specific game built into it, however. These consoles are iconic to video games and remain relatively unchanged in terms of esthetic design or appearance. Inside, the graphics have vastly improved over time but still fall below the quality of current consumer consoles capabilities. Pong soon made its way onto the console from Atari, but the system was still limited to the sole game until 1977 when Atari released the Atari 2600 which was the first console to feature joysticks, colour games, and the ability to change not only the game being played but the difficulty of the game. This was a big step forward from the monochromatic games such as Pong. Atari's console was also one of the first to implement cartridges which gave the player the ability to change games rather than being limited to the pre-programmed choices. Cartridges continue to be a staple in the video game console field, taking on various iterations as technology developed. Many other companies quickly begin to create their own consumer consoles, as the demand builds. The differences between many of the early models were improved graphics or increased variety of video games offered on the console. Oversaturation and few new game options lead to a slow decline in consume console purchases until 1985 when Nintendo releases the Nintendo Entertainment System in the US. This system followed the earlier design of controllers and cartridges but also featured video game-specific controllers allowing the player to simulate the action in the game. Nintendo builds on its success and ventures into the handheld market in 1989. Handheld gaming is a different style of console where monitor, controller, and console are all combined into one unit held in the hand of a player. Some basic models only play a pre-programmed game but many allow for game selection using the cartridge method seen in earlier console designs. Over the next few years, many big names in the present video game industry release home consoles with very little change except improved graphics capabilities and the ability to access the internet, though few games existed that utilized this ability. Sega is unable to keep up with competitors and in 2000 bows out of the home console market. By 2001, the three big names in home console systems, Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo, had each released a popular console for home gaming claiming improved graphics and interactivity. In 2004, Nintendo also pushes the boundary in handheld gaming releasing the Nintendo DS which is the first handheld system to feature two screens, two processors, and multiplayer capabilities. By 2005, home consoles have moved into the online video game market and Microsoft's Xbox 360 offers vastly improved processing, graphics, and online capabilities over competitors' products. Nintendo's Wii, released in 2006, builds on the original Nintendo home console, the Nintendo Entertainment System, and turns the controller into an immersion tool for gamers, allowing the console to read the movement of the controller and relate it to a corresponding action in the game. This results in physically active gaming, opening the market to sensor technology either in controllers, like the Playstation3's controllers, or with sensors next to the console that read the actions of the player without a controller, like the Xbox Kinect. The newest release of Sony and Microsoft's flagship systems in 2014 incorporate new advanced in the console technology including voice commands and advancement of the human body as controller technology. Video graphic capabilities, as always, are vastly improved offering more fluid and realistic imaging onscreen. Mobile With the ever-growing smartphone market, video game companies have a new field to target in video game design. The mobile phone video game market development followed the same lines as the console market in that mobile phones began with pre-programmed, minimal graphics video games as part of their interface. As time went on and smartphones began to permeate the market, the two major phone interface designers, Apple and Android, opened online stores where users could connect to download applications to their smartphones, many of which are either video games or incorporate video game aspects such as points or goals to attain. Issues Violence One of the most common complaints targeted towards the video game medium is overabundance of violence presented within the game’s content. The release of the controversial American fighting game Mortal Kombat in 1992 was the major reason for the push towards the regulation of video game content and themes. The combination of the game’s over the top violence and realistic graphics led to multiple hearings from the U.S. senate that ran from 1992 into 1993. The result of these hearings was the creation of the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB), an organization dedicated to informing the public on the age appropriateness of video game products. The United Kingdom equivalent to the ESRB is the Pan European Game Information (PEGI) rating system. Yet despite these regulations in place, video games have still been linked to real life violence such as in the Columbine school shooting in 1999. Many target the playing of violent video games as a primary influence for the shooters Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold. Further issues may arise from online interactions within these video games. As the ESRB frequently explains, they cannot rate the age appropriateness of online interactions given their high level of unpredictability. The “disinhibition effect” is the belief that there is a tendency for one to lose their inhibitions within digital interactions since they are not face-to-face (Whitty). Psychology professor John Suler studied the nature of online interactions and claimed that there is a tendency for this loss of inhibition to lead to rude and aggressive behaviour. This effect is made worse with the introduction of voice chat into online play. Even with the ESRB enforcing age limitations, children are still able to obtain access to age-inappropriate content. Online interactions may also be damaging to children given that they are exposed to a variety of real-life personality types. In November 2013, a 46-year old man living in the UK had tracked down a child that was taunting him within an online multiplayer session of the game Call of Duty: Black Ops. The man was stopped before he could harm the child, but the issue still remains that children may be exposed to aggressive individuals. Sexuality See Women in Gaming Video Game Addiction (Social isolation and health concerns) An issue surrounding the playing of video games is their addictive quality. This addiction can be characterized by the medium’s capacity to affect the everyday life of an individual. Given that the nature of present day video games is to offer rewards for continuing play, the notion of addiction has become a considerable concern. Piracy As is common with most internet media, video games suffer from priracy issues. For more information on piracy see (insert link here) Benefits Video games have come to be known as an everyday activity and lifestyle. It has long been a means of entertainment for several generations, carrying on a passion starting at any age. Children and young adults have come to be known as the main consumers and users. However, adults also partake in gaming as a way of relaxing. With its wide spread use, concerns of the effects of video games have been raised and questioned. Its proliferation has driven studies targeting the overall effects of gaming on the players. It has long been criticized as an activity that targets the player’s mind and body. In specific, the short and long-term impacts on children remains to be the main source of concern. Although video games and their effects continue to be a controversial topic, there are an undeniable variety of benefits for all ages. Video games allow individuals multiple freedoms and expressions in a digital realm, while exercising the mind. It has allowed education to take new forms to give students a superior alternative to traditional systems of learning. Video games have also formed communities, giving players a new means of connecting with other people from around the world. Overall, video games carry with it a host of evident benefits. 'Commuity ' Video games have become a prominent source of community and communication. Not only has it allowed multiple users the means of communicating, it has improved our ways of communicating altogether. Video games have long been seen as an activity that isolates and alienates an individual from any social contact. However, since “communication richness depend(s) on the interaction between the medium and its users” (Lancaster, 8), video games provide a multifaceted outlet for all types of people. Video games are “ideological spaces”, which allows worlds to be constructed by “particular viewpoints that tend to lead toward the expression of particular idea” (Squire, 652). With the introduction of online gaming, these means of expression allow interactions “of dispersed groups of people with shared interests” (Wilson & Leighton, 449) to form and grow at a substantial rate. These groups allow individuals the necessary ability to share their thoughts within a digital realm. Which has clear benefits seeing as community is known, in anthropological theory and practice, as something that is not distinguished by its real, imagined, or virtual characteristics (Wilson & Leighton, 456). Video games promote a “psychological sense of community” (Forster, 62), which has been “identified as beneficial to the development of identity and the building of resilience and well-being” (Forster, 62). Communities of common interest, such as those built from MMORPGs, contributes to an individuals social motivations (Wilson & Leighton, 62). An ever-changing gaming language dictates these social motivations, since it allows an expression of “human emotions” (Lancaster, 6). Online games encourage players to “form groups and play other groups within the game environment” (Wilson & Leighton, 456). Relationships are formed within these online communities, and provide support to players whether they face real or virtual problems. In the massive multiplayer game World of Warcraft, players have come together in the pat to mourn the loss of a friend outside of the online world. Video games establish long-term friendships that extend beyond the gaming platform, and help players cope with hardship. As communities begin to form around video games, so do fandoms. BlizzCon, Blizzard Entertainment’s convention in Anaheim, California, celebrates the fans and their dedication to the games. These conventions bring together people and allow them to bond over common gaming interests. These conventions provide players a necessary outlet to display their passions in the real world. Which ultimately provides many a sense of acceptance, and “an opportunity to exercise their positive characteristics or to develop new ones in a self-actualizing process” (Suler, 457). 'Education ' With the emergence of video games, new and improved ways of learning have surfaced. Several studies have shown that video games have positive effects in the ways in which students absorb and use information both inside and outside of the classroom. Since video games have become known as one of “the most important entertainment media for youngsters”, education within the realm of gaming has proven to be beneficial. Video games are known to be “intrinsically motivating”, which ultimately leads to a positive attitude towards learning (Bourgonjon, 651). Video games are no longer seen as simply an “opportunity”, but rather an “imperative” towards the amelioration of educational practices (Squire, 667). They allow for the creation of educational practices that look to prepare students for a “life in an information/knowledge rich economy” (Squire, 667). Video games do so by providing multiple benefits for a wide range of learners, young and old. Traditionally, games were used for “factual recall”. Games such as Reader Rabbit and Alga-Blaster were often used since they were easily integrated into “didactic curriculum” (Squire, 5). As different genres of video games emerged, so did the benefits attached to educational gaming. Interactive video games have proven to increase the motor skills of pre-schoolers between the ages of three to six (Spector). Games on Nintendo’s Wii console have shown to improve hand-eye coordination and skills ranging from kicking to throwing (Spector). Video games have also shown to improve the creativity of middle school students, as researchers discovered that those who were advent video gamers found it easier to draw and write stories in school (Jackson). Video games have also shown to motive even the most “under-motivated” teens who typically do not perform well in school (Cool). Games aimed at learning curriculum through game strategies used during leisure time have proven to drastically improve grades, and overall social skills (Cool). Seeing as games are built “with clear goals and provide immediate feedback”, using video games in an educational setting improves a students performance to reach their goals (McClarty, 5). Assessment skills are improved through video games, and allow sutdents to improve their schoolwork following constructive feedback from their teachers (McClarty, 5). Well-designed games also encourage students to “adapt and design learning and teaching styles most suitable to them”, which ultimately leads to a more “active role in learning” (McClarty, 5). Video games also support problem-based learning, “allowing players to see the results of their actions” to “play out much faster than they could in real time”, ultimately leading to better decision-making and innovating skills (McClarty, 16). Video games can teach us about biological processes, they can help solve educational and scientific challenges (Spector). Video Games in Popular Culture References Category:Browse